1919 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



241 



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'Boiled DowiO 



Introduction of Virgin Queens 



By J. F. Diemer 



THE introduction of virgin queens 

 is a hard nut for many beekeep- 

 ers to crack, probably because 

 it is not practiced to any great ex- 

 lent. The oftener one does a certain 

 kind of work, the more efficient he 

 becomes. 



Introducing queen-cells is very 

 much easier, but even then it is 

 necessary to take a look-in, to see 

 whether she is hatched, whether she 

 has all the limbs that belong to a per- 

 fect queen, for she may have imper- 

 fect wings, and in that case would 

 only be a drone-layer. Also the 

 careless handling of the queen-cell 

 may kill the young queen in it. 



If they are allowed to hatch in the 

 nursery cage, the poor ones may be 

 sorted out and only the good ones 

 used. 



The nursery cage which I use is 

 so arranged that the bees have free 

 access to the queen-cells at all times. 

 The cages are made of woven wire. 

 At the bottom is an opening, made 

 from a queen-excluder fastened to 

 the wooden plug that closes the lower 

 end of the cage. When removing the 

 cage, a slight turn closes the hole, 

 confining the bees in the cage, 10 to 

 20 of them, with the queen. These 

 are introduced with the young queen 

 and, I believe, help the safe introduc- 

 tion of her majesty. 



Five different conditions may exist 

 in the queenless nuclei or colonies 

 where a young queen is to be intro- 

 duced, as follows : 



No. 1. Bees only. 



No. 2. Bees and eggs only. 



No. 3. Bees, sealed brood and 

 queen-cells. 



No. 4. Bees, eggs, unsealed brood 

 and sealed brood. 



No. 5. Bees, eggs and unsealed 

 brood only. 



The time the queen is to be con- 

 fined in the cage is regulated by the 

 amount of candy in the tube. The 

 tube I use is 2 inches long and one- 

 half inch in diameter, and if it is 

 full, it takes the bees 48 hours to eat 

 it up and release the queen. 



In introducing a queen to Nos. 1, 

 2 and 3, I take all the candy out ex- 

 cept a small amount, because it is 

 easy to get these colonies to accept 

 a queen. Time is 4 to 6 hours. 



The queen-cells should be removed 

 from No. 3. 



No. 4 is all right after 48 hours. 

 No. S is the hardest to deal with, es- 

 pecially if it has 3 or 4 frames of 

 brood, and the bees are old and 

 crabbed. If their brood is removed 

 and sealed brood only given them, 

 they will accept a virgin in 48 hours. 



■_■__■___ ___i— _______ ___? 



If introducing either a virgin or a 

 laying queen, it is very important 

 that there be no robbing, or excite- 

 ment. I lose very few virgins, be- 

 cause I do not try to introduce them 

 when there is the least excitement. 



It is not best to try to introduce 

 old virgins, as they are too anxious 

 to leave the hive for their wedding 

 flight. 



Liberty, Mo. 



How Exports Affect the Honey 

 Market 



Adequate Packing a Necessity — A 

 Prospectus of Honey Prices 



llT-\OREIGN importers will no 



|H longer tolerate any such pack- 

 ages as have been shipped in 

 the last two years, as the loss of 

 honey packed in cans and cases has 

 been tremendous, especially so on 

 goods shipped early in the season, 

 when the honey was liquid." 



This is the statement of one of the 

 leading export commission merchants 

 of New York City. Criticising our 

 American methods of packing honey, 

 he continues : "We are sufficiently 

 experienced in this line to know that 

 radical changes must be made in the 

 packing of American honey for ex- 

 portation. If the business is to be 

 promoted, the present packing of 

 honey for export is absolutely unsat- 

 isfactory." 



In view of the fact that many au- 

 thorities agree that exportation of 

 honey is keeping up the present high 

 prices, more so than domestic de- 

 mand, this advice from so high an 

 authority is pertinent. The commis- 

 sion merchant mentioned estimates 

 that not one single importer in Italy 

 made a profit on the importation of 

 American honey, in spite of the fact 

 that all this honey arrived in Italy on 

 a strong advancing market. The 

 loss in revenue was due to the loss 

 in transit, this in turn being the re- 

 sult of improper packing. 



This same authority advises that 

 second-hand cans and cases should 

 not be used for export. He advises 

 everyone to pack American honey in 

 cans and cases for export so that for- 

 eign countries will want to buy here 

 always, instead of only when the'y 

 have to. The placing of corrugated 

 paper in the bottom of cases as well 

 as at the sides is advised. It is esti- 

 mated that the ends and center parti- 

 tion of all honey cases intended for 

 export should be made of not less 

 than seven-eighths-inch lumber, and 

 the top and bottom of not less than 

 seven-sixteenths-inch lumber. On all 

 cases the use of iron straps and_ the 

 nailing of these straos is advised. 



This makes a substantial package. It 

 can be easily opened, as it is neces- 

 sary for exporters at the seaboard to 

 sample 10 per -ent of all such honey. 



An importer in London advances 

 the information that 6,000 tons of 

 honey held in Australia for lack of 

 freight room is now coming on the 

 London market. He advises that 

 England will give preference to buy- 

 ing from her own colonies, especially 

 with freight conditions becoming 

 normal. 



Reliable information indicates that 

 towns on the coast and most large 

 producers have cleaned up on last 

 year's honey crop. However, a num- 

 ber of wholesale grocers throughout 

 the country have on hand from one 

 to two carloads of honey purchased 

 last October in anticipation of a 

 sugar shortage. These factors will 

 have a vital bearing on the demand 

 and price of honey next fall. They 

 may well be considered by every 

 commercial producer of honey in the 

 United States. 



Certificates for Beekeepers 



1 have read with interest the work 

 of the bee clubs and what they are 

 doing for our young people. In the 

 bee club the prize goes to the one 

 who produces the greatest surplus, 

 while there may be a better bee- 

 keeper, in a worse location, who can 

 never aspire to the first rank. There 

 is a system in vogue in Ireland that 

 meets with great success, and that is 

 of granting certificates of compe- 

 tency after an examination, to those 

 who can pass the tests. There are 

 two grades, the higher being the ex- 

 perts. 



I would suggest that the American 

 Bee Journal issue certificates having 

 set tests for the two grades, and ap- 

 pointing reliable "experts" to see the 

 tests carried out. There would also 

 be a written test to see if the student 

 knows the underlying principles of 

 the art. 



A good test for the lower grade 

 would be the transfer from box or 

 skep to hive in one operation, and 

 for the written part questions deal- 

 ing with age of queen, drone and 

 worker at different stages of their 

 development. 



The examination for the higher 

 certificate would be much stiffer, go- 

 ing into bee diseases, etc. One test 

 I know was to take three queens 

 from three hives and then replace 

 them without having let go of them 

 at all during the operation; one 

 queen had to be held in the lips to 

 successfully get through this test. 



However, the main object was to 

 get every beekeeper striving first for 

 ordinary proficiency, and later on he 

 or she is sure to want to be an ex- 

 pert. 



This system can be made to reach 

 all. while only the favored few can 

 attend the college courses and get the 

 instruction so badly needed to stamp 

 out foulbrood. Again, anyone who 

 has bees and cannot, or will not, 

 mind them can thus get some one who, 

 they know, is capable to look after 

 them, either for pay or on shares. 



Beekeeping is very much like what 



